Sunday, January 29, 2012

1008.[Comic title: Suckville; alt text: Suckville is considered by the Census Bureau to be part of the Detroit metropolitan statistical area, despite not being located anywhere near Detroit.]

This comic opens with some banter that I've basically heard before, and then carries on in that Randally tradition of "LOL WHAT IF WE TOOK IT LITERALLY" for boring results. Honestly the joke in this one didn't bother me much, but there are two glaring flaws.

First: making fun of Detroit is like making fun of creepy white knight webcomic artists. It's obvious, predictable, and boring, and real comedians steer well clear.

Second: what the fuck is going on in panel 3? Why is she turning into some eldritch monstrosity? Apparently it's meant to be "motion blur" where she turns over or some shit but... what the fuck? It was sufficiently bad that one of the forumites made this. So good.

Finally, let's visit one of the echochamber's resident aspies to see how they feel: "I still don't get it, mainly because I don't get how this is possibly taunting in any way. Telling someone that they live in a ghost town doesn't sound so much taunting as plain old bizarre. A distraction, maybe? Rather than a taunt? Similar to 'I need a pee/beer/new hat'."

1009.

[Comic title: Sigh; alt text: "If you're annoying enough, you can get them to respond with an involuntary second sigh and get a rhythm going."]

This comic right here is why this blog exists. It's not enough for Randall to be plastered all over the internet, no. He has to subsume reality, and encourage his legion of cuddlefish to turn everything into an XKCD reference. And mark my words: there are even now cuddlefish out there who are now saying "girllookatthatbody" every time they hear someone sigh. Randall is actively trying to replace reality with an awful, XKCD-inspired hyperreality.

This is probably one of the more egregious examples, because he is encouraging them to simultaneously reference both XKCD and LMFAO. It's hyperreality at its worst: ultimately the objective is to make it so that people can no longer sigh, or hear a sigh, without thinking of this manufactured pop culture. This is what Randall does for all of his references. This is what his fans willingly do. They are trying to turn the world we live in into nothing more than a series of references to other things.

He's carefully crafted a following which eats up references. He makes a comic which relies heavily on reference-based humor, and creates punchlines which are easily used as references in certain situations. References are the lifeblood of XKCD, and given the nearly religious quality XKCD takes on in nerd circles, making something as common as sighing into a reference must be a goddamn spiritual experience for them.

This sort of thing happens all the time. Something pop culture happens and you can never do a thing again without people thinking you are making a reference to that thing, or, alternatively, making the reference for you if you don't. Previously, though, these acts have been avoidable--nobody will force you to drink White Russians, and you can work words you once used that are now catchphrases for popular television shows out of your vocabulary. But you still had to change yourself in some way in order to avoid the hideous creeping hyperreality.

Now Randy is trying to make it happen for something that is almost involuntary for most people. Maybe you could avoid ever sighing, but it's the sort of thing that happens without thinking. And you never know when an XKCD fanboy will be waiting to strike. A red mist will descend on you, and when you emerge, you're covered in cuddlefish blood and hear yourself screaming 'WHERE ARE YOUR NERD REFERENCES NOW?' at their lifeless corpse.

presumably randall grew up during that era when every conversation, ever, consisted of nothing but simpsons quotes. he wants to go back to that time. he can't handle anything else. hence his quest to turn everything, ever, into a pop culture reference.

The fact that it is so easy to refer to and makes a great (at least in my mind) quote in the middle of a conversation is one reason why I liked xkcd when I started reading it...

Perhaps I'm predisposed to liking that kind of webcomic or that kind of style. xkcd is often fun to quote simply because of its applicability to a lot of things from life. Now, that definitely sounds naive and GOOMH-y, but it's true for me and for a lot of people who are NOT complete idiots or fanboys. I can definitely see your point when the fanboys take it too far with overinjecting this into popular culture, but the quotability of xkcd IS part of it's appeal, recent strip quality aside.

Don't flame please, I am not a fanboy moron and neither are most people who like the comic. Also, this was a good review.

In case anyone is trying to argue that Rob is making up everything in the review of 1009: "go look at the top comments of the official video on youtube, both mention xkcd" by big boss in the xkcd forums.

1010 seems to show a bit of self-awareness of some of Randall's own weaknesses, in this case pedantry (see 558 and 727) and a proclivity to walls of text that aren't at all funny (896). It's a decent comic. Not a great one by any means (stilted dialogue between the two first characters, arguable post-punchline dialogue in the last panel, rather useless alt-text), but it's easily the best of the post-1000 comics. Not that that was a hard feat to accomplish.

Actually I think that comic is directed more towards the comedy of Monty Python than a personal rant on the overuse of quotes, in fact I don't know where you got your interpretation from. Perhaps you are lacking comprehension.

thank you, 5:08 for your illuminating brilliance. I have stepped from the dark cave of ignorance and into the blinding light of your intelligence. Why don't you have a coke and a smile and shut the fuck up?

The reason I said that is because what he references in #16 is the fact that people quote lines from a group (Monty Python) whose comedy was meant to be shocking and unexpected. In no way does it make a blanket statement about pop culture references. Parallels can of course be derived, but that is true of just about anything.

Perhaps in the future 5:08...you know, I'm not gonna waste my time. Go sit on a dick you lonely bastard, I'm sure there are at least two politicians willing to ignore your dingleberries for a quick fuck.

Course, that's still a shitty goddamn joke. But then, LMFAO is just as much a bullshit reference as Downton Abbey. Randall doesn't listen to LMFAO. No he fucking doesn't. He's heard their songs, maybe he'll say (with an ironic sneer) "Those guys are great". But he doesn't actually fucking care.

So why mention them either? (No it's not "Cos no other song has that sort of joke-potential". There're any number of songs that have sighs or moans in 'em, songs that he probably actually likes. The Beatles: Girl. That teeth-sucking sound. Perfect.) (Oh but LMFAO was who inspired it for Randy? Yeah, it's called professional fucking research and if you make jokes for a living you damn well better do it.)

yes, what kind of chess club member knows humans who like to reference chess games that they like in conversation?

of course, the real problem with chess games is that they are designed almost entirely as a chess game reference machine. it turns otherwise normal chess club members into hideous vehicles for pointless chess game references. so even when you are interacting with chess club members who you would never suspect of harboring secret chess game sympathies, sometimes you say something innocent and then they reference chess games, and when you give them a look like they just murdered a loved one in front of you, they say 'see, it's from this chess game . . . I think you'd like it!'

the fact that you are either not perceptive enough to notice that this happens even in normal chess clubs doesn't mean that it's an aberration relegated to MIT XKCD clubs. believe me, if this shit were relegated to MIT XKCD clubs this blog would not exist.

but this rant is not because I, personally, am worried about it happening to me. it's because hyperreality, as a concept, is utterly repulsive to me, and the thought that chess club members are even now sitting in their chess clubs laughing hysterically at how they said 'Rc2 Qb1+ 31 Qf1 Qxc2' when someone else sighed makes me want to burn the World Chess Federation down.

I kinda liked 1010. Midway through, I'd dismissed it as a "comic" where you learn something interesting, but it isn't funny (better than some of the recent ones, which lacked both traits), but then the last couple of panels had an okay-ish joke, and the alt text was pretty all right too. Not a great comic, but not a waste of my time.

I knew robdall still had some real hate-filled reviews inside of him next to all those doughnuts. I think i'm just going to put on my best angry face and loudly declare "FUCK YOU" to the first person who makes this manufactured LMFAO reference. It is worth burning bridges and violated social contracts. scorched earth

I didn't know LMFAO had any songs other than that "Everyday I'm shuffling" one. Randy's probably listening to shitty pop music way too much.

1010: predictable by the time you finish reading the first 3 panels. One could argue that the journey is more important than the destination, but really. When the journey is some stickman blabbering out walls of text, you'd rather be done with it as soon as possible.

Maybe I'm the first person here to say it but I find reading fiction really boring. I have started reading hundreds of pieces of fiction of various lengths and probably finished a dozen throughout my life, not including schoolwork.

I find it hard to pick up a book without immediately engaging a mindset of, "Here's a consumable that some guy has produced to make money and/or unload some issues. What comfortable fantasy is he creating to enable this?" And that's how my whole reading experience goes. Fiction makes no point well which can't be better made with reference to reality. It takes me nowhere without giving me the uncomfortable sense that someone thinks this is where I am supposed to need to be in order to see something false or escape something true. Fiction idealises; it romanticises; it preaches. It falls asleep and it dreams. It is a selfish journey away from the truth.

The world already has enough that is beautiful and that is abhorrent - and reality is far more challenging to confront. Fiction has always seemed like the easy way out.

Maybe I'm the first person here to say it but I find memes really boring. I have started reading hundreds of meme comments of various length and probably finished a dozen throughout my life, not including the ass turds guy.

I find it hard to read a meme without immediately engaging a mindset of, "Here's a consumable that some cuddlefish has reproduced to fit in and/or unload some issues. Which trolly rant is he reproducing to enable this?" And that's how my whole reading experience goes. Memes make no point well which can't be better made with original content. It takes me nowhere without giving me the uncomfortable sense that someone thinks I need to reproduce someone's copy in order to see something false or escape something true. Memes idealize; they romanticize; they preach. They fall asleep and they dream. They are a selfish journey away from the truth.

The world already has enough that is beautiful and that is abhorrent - and original content is far more challenging to confront. Memes have always seemed like the easy way out.

Maybe I'm the first person here to say it but I find talking really boring. I have started saying hundreds of sentences of various lengths and probably finished a dozen throughout my life, not including this blog post.

I find it hard to say anything without immediately engaging a mindset of, "Here's a consumable that I have produced to fit in and/or unload some issues. What comfortable generalization am I creating to enable this?" And that's how my whole verbal experience goes. Words make no point well which can't be better made with a non-verbal signal. They take me nowhere without giving me the uncomfortable sense that someone thinks I need to speak in order to see something false or escape something true. Language idealises; it romanticises; it preaches. It falls asleep and it dreams. It is a selfish journey away from the truth.

The world already has enough that is beautiful and that is abhorrent - and muteness is far more challenging to confront. Language has always seemed like the easy way out.

Maybe I'm the first person here to say it but I find writing memes really boring. I have started hundreds of memes of various length and probably felt pride in a dozen throughout my life, not including this one.

I find it hard to write a meme without immediately engaging a mindset of, "Here's a consumable that I'm writing to boost my ego and/or unload some issues. What pithy catchphrases shall I imagineer to enable this?" And that's how my whole writing experience goes. New memes make no point well which can't be better made with old memes. They takes me nowhere without giving me the uncomfortable sense that someone thinks I need to be original to see something false or escape something true. New memes idealize; they romanticize; they preach. They fall asleep and they dream. They are a selfish journey away from the safe and the familiar.

The world already has enough memes that are beautiful and that are abhorrent - and another man's work is far more challenging to confront. Creativity has always seemed like the easy way out.

Randall did C++ programming, which is about objects which are nothing but references to other things. I'm sure when he decided to do webcomics, he picked up a few pointers from the C++ community about geek life.

No, no. This is a good thing, in that there is no way Randall can be proud of this. He will at some point create a meme-reference so horrible that he will look at his creation and think 'What have I done?' That day will be the end of xkcd.

Either that, or he ignores his fanboys in the same way as his critics, and lives in an dark isolated room, in which case I feel sorry for him.

I'm not sure where you hail from but Swift's work has been the basis for previous and current Tory government policy toward Ireland and England.

Thank fuck for Mo Mowlam and the willingness of Sinn Fein or my father would probably have been blown up by now. I'm sad that Britain forgot within 3 years how to handle terrorism and turned into the younger sister of the whiny, panicking baby that is the USA.

A counter meme, you say. In all seriousness though, it would be really difficult to create something so bad that it destroys all other memes. The risk is that it would probably backfire and get accepted as a mainstream meme.

The counter meme would have to be very politically incorrect. Like racism, rape, terrorism, or all three. Something along the lines of, a picture of Mohammad... being goatse'd.

The counter meme would have to briefly enter the cultural mainstream. Then it would have to be deliberately and gratuitously exposed to millions of people, especially children, through a mass media outlet. I think the best bet would be a Super Bowl advert.

But if it was just some asshole company putting on an inappropriate ad, it wouldn't work. The counter meme would have to gain popularity with the general public first, before they believe that a TV company would willingly broadcast that shit.

The counter meme must be a big enough reflection of society as a whole. It takes one person to make a viral video, but an image macro series is the work of thousands of people. That makes it the ideal medium. As a representative of internet culture, the counter meme would have to remind people of existing memes. It should also offer infinite possibilities, the kind of meme where people can't stop working it into new ideas.

To achieve these, I suggest merging the counter meme with Rage Comics. It would be a series of rage comics that all end in Mohammad being Goatse'd.

This sort of thing could gain popularity with fringe groups first. But it needs explosive growth among the general population to gain any traction. However most people's conditioning ensures that they will be repulsed by the counter meme. While this is good in the long term, it would make it impossible for the counter meme to grow beyond fringe groups.

The only way this could work is if something happens to briefly make the general population think it's okay to make rage comics of Mohammed being Goatse'd. And that could only happen one way. In order for the counter meme to succeed, there would have to be another 9/11.

Ugh. God. One should ever only use the word "sperm" in conversation with one's daughter behind closed doors and at carefully chosen times. One should never, ever use the word "sperm" when the daughter in question is newborn. And you've done it on your hugely circulated webcomic, Randy. God damnit.

I think "Randall" is a fairly silly name. It also brings to mind Rand Paul, which brings to mind Ayn Rand, and they were/are all equally stupid. (Although Ayn Rand has a special place in my heart reminding the world why we don't let women become philosophers. See also Margaret Thatcher.)

Sweet. Forum posters repeatedly bring up racist urban legends (la-a, shi-thead, etc.), and it only takes 99 posts for somebody to call them on it. That's a fine fanbase you've got there, Randy. (yes, I know nobody was being INTENTIONALLY racist; they're just clueless aspies, but shouldn't la-a set off their BS detectors?)

That 'Eldritcht monstrosity" you speak of could very well be an angled shadow cast by the computer. Or any other light source, but I think its sole presence in that frame makes it likely to be the former.

Just a heads up, probably no-one here cares about LMFAO. Seeing Randall try to make hip mainstream references is like watching your dad dance... [insert spider legs drawing here]... except then you find out he's not your dad but just some lazy bum your mother picked up after your real dad left... and then he starts hitting you... two or three times a week... and you have nowhere to run because everyone else says he's such a nice person... only you know... oh god the pain...

There are too many anons in this thread. The fact that they all have avatars now makes it even worse. I liked the idea of giving anons avatars at first, but now I've realised it draws too much unnecessary attention to them.

yes, what kind of basement-dweller knows humans who like to reference things that they like in conversation?

of course, the real problem with XKCD is that it is designed almost entirely as a reference machine. it turns otherwise normal people into hideous vehicles for pointless references. so even when you are interacting with people who you would never suspect of harboring secret XKCD sympathies, sometimes you say something innocent and then they reference XKCD, and when you give them a look like they just murdered a loved one in front of you, they say 'see, it's from this webcomic, XKCD . . . I think you'd like it!'

the fact that you are either not perceptive enough to notice that this happens even in normal social circles doesn't mean that it's an aberration relegated to MIT chessclubs. believe me, if this shit were relegated to MIT chessclubs this blog would not exist.

but this rant is not because I, personally, am worried about it happening to me. it's because hyperreality, as a concept, is utterly repulsive to me, and the thought that nerds are even now sitting in their basement laughing hysterically at how they said 'girllookatthatbody' when someone else sighed makes me want to burn civilization down.

yes, what kind of chess club member knows humans who like to reference chess games that they like in conversation?

of course, the real problem with chess games is that they are designed almost entirely as a chess game reference machine. it turns otherwise normal chess club members into hideous vehicles for pointless chess game references. so even when you are interacting with chess club members who you would never suspect of harboring secret chess game sympathies, sometimes you say something innocent and then they reference chess games, and when you give them a look like they just murdered a loved one in front of you, they say 'see, it's from this chess game . . . I think you'd like it!'

the fact that you are either not perceptive enough to notice that this happens even in normal chess clubs doesn't mean that it's an aberration relegated to MIT XKCD clubs. believe me, if this shit were relegated to MIT XKCD clubs this blog would not exist.

but this rant is not because I, personally, am worried about it happening to me. it's because hyperreality, as a concept, is utterly repulsive to me, and the thought that chess club members are even now sitting in their chess clubs laughing hysterically at how they said 'Rc2 Qb1+ 31 Qf1 Qxc2' when someone else sighed makes me want to burn the World Chess Federation down.

What the hell is this?

Welcome. This is a website called XKCD SUCKS which is about the webcomic xkcd and why we think it sucks. My name is Carl and I used to write about it all the time, then I stopped because I went insane, and now other people write about it all the time. I forget their names. The posts still seem to be coming regularly, but many of the structural elements - like all the stuff in this lefthand pane - are a bit outdated. What can I say? Insane, etc.

I started this site because it had been clear to me for a while that xkcd is no longer a great webcomic (though it once was). Alas, many of its fans are too caught up in the faux-nerd culture that xkcd is a part of, and can't bring themselves to admit that the comic, at this point, is terrible. While I still like a new comic on occasion, I feel that more and more of them need the Iron Finger of Mockery knowingly pointed at them. This used to be called "XKCD: Overrated", but then it fell from just being overrated to being just horrible. Thus, xkcd sucks.

Here is a comic about me that Ann made. It is my favorite thing in the world.

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